By Aaron Earls BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — With the Super Bowl this weekend, don’t expect many pastors to place a bet on Kansas City or San Francisco to win the game, but a few may have more than a rooting interest riding on the game. Despite its legalization across many states, U.S. Protestant pastors remain opposed to sports gambling, but they’re not doing much about it, … [Read more...]
Mandrell shares 2030 vision with Lifeway trustees
By Aaron Earls PHOENIX — Beginning the new year, Lifeway President and CEO Ben Mandrell presented the organization’s trustees with the direction that will guide Lifeway into the next decade. “At Lifeway, we want everyone to catch the vision for where we’re going and to clearly see how they fit into that vision,” Mandrell said. During the Jan. 29-30 meeting, … [Read more...]
Why your church needs to be planning VBS now
By Vicki Hulsey BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — For many churches, dates for Vacation Bible School (VBS) are among the first placed on the church calendar each year. Churches give VBS high priority because pastors recognize VBS as one of the most important evangelistic events for the entire church year. In some churches, a volunteer serves as the VBS director. Other churches may have … [Read more...]
Lifeway equips churches to build on God’s truth through VBS
By Marissa Postell Sullivan BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Lifeway Christian Resources is kicking off the new year preparing churches to host Vacation Bible School (VBS). Churches across the country are setting aside time during the first months of the year to plan for VBS this summer. And Lifeway is training, equipping and encouraging leaders along the way, because VBS makes a … [Read more...]
Baptisms rebound, but negative trend continues in Southern Baptist churches
By Aaron Earls BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — With far fewer churches gathering in person, Southern Baptist congregations didn’t do much baptizing during the pandemic. Those numbers have increased in recent years, but the overall decline within the Convention continues. In 2022, Southern Baptist congregations that reported figures for the Annual Church Profile (ACP) recorded 180,177 … [Read more...]